The following is an article reprinted from an unknown newspaper, by an unknown writer and in an unknown year. The only known fact is, the story is true, I sailed aboard the Virgo and the spot outside the captain’s cabin where the steel bracket held palm tree in place was still visible.

The real “Mister Roberts”

Roberts . . . Roberts, you get up here in one quick hurry. Roberts, get a move on! I'm giving you an order Roberts! This is it! You get a move on and get up here or this is finally . . .finally the showdown! We are going to have it out right here and now. You hear me, Roberts? Get up here NOW!

If you have been watching TV, for the last few weeks, you may recognize these words from a movie you saw. Or, perhaps, you recall them from a movie you saw long ago. Either way the words are from the movie “Mister. Roberts”

For those who may not already know "Mister Roberts" was a movie starring Henry Fonda and was based on, a novel by Thomas Heggen. It is a story about a cargo ship named the Reluctant, in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The movie tells how Doug Roberts (the Mr. Roberts in the title) held this band of seafarers together during their long and monotonous days on the ship.

Thomas Heggen based the story on his adventures in the navy during the same time as the book is set. Heggen served on the U.S.S. Virgo, along with Harlen Olson. Recently, Harlen and his wife attended the reunion of his fellow shipmates in Nashville. This was the second annual reunion of this kind for the Virgo and the first reunion that Harlen attended.

Although the characters Mister Roberts and Ensign Pulvier, are fictional, many of the, other members of the crew are recognizable as members of the Virgo. Not only can, the crew be placed in parallel, but some of the actions which took place in the movie really happened on the Virgo.

Harlen said that the most famous and memorable scene in which Mister Roberts throws the captain’s palm tree overboard actually happened. Although no one knows who threw the captain’s tree overboard, the captain did lose his prized palm. The scene in which members of the crew looked through binoculars at nurses on the island’s hospital also happend on the Virgo. Harlen never did say if he was one of the onlookers.

Heggen used names of some of his fellow crew members in his book. Those names can be picked out by former Virgo members when they read the book or watch the movie. If you have an opportunity, to see “Mister Roberts” listen carefully and you’ll hear that OLSON is the man put in charge of finding the captain a new palm tree.

Although Thomas Heggen has since passed away, his humor and spirit live on through his creation of Douglas A. Roberts ... or to his friends, Mister Roberts.